


there’s a light that never goes out

by joydvision



Category: 1917 (Movie 2019)
Genre: Gay., Homophobia, M/M, Music, also it’s an 80’s au, but he also loves him a lot, but tom is too!, gonna be soft, happy ending I promise, joe is a dickwad to tom, not only is will soft
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-05-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:34:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23767018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joydvision/pseuds/joydvision
Summary: will frequently goes to help load cargo ships and spends most of his time at home in his room listening to the same three records or at an actual record store. he thinks this is life, and that there’s nothing really bound for him.and then he meets a boy with a curly mullet who has a love for david bowie and telling funny stories.
Relationships: Tom Blake/William Schofield
Comments: 7
Kudos: 23





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> note: maybe i’m using will as my outlet for my music taste

“You realize that coming into my store every Tuesday to buy a cassette tape or record is not a valid excuse to skip loading boats all day- you know that right?” 

Will stepped foot into his town's local music store, run by his school mate and neighbor Kilgour. He wasn’t the most talkative person, but he was always leaving a sarcastic comment with a soft undertone. Will turned and gave a soft smile to Kilgour, watching him take a drag from his cigarette that hung between his lips. 

Will let out a sigh. ”I just don’t get why Mr. Erinmore feels the need to have me do the heavy lifting when he’s totally capable of doing it himself.” He slowly made his way further into the store, noticing the song that softly played throughout the shop. 

“Take me out tonight 

Where there's music and there's people 

And they're young and alive 

Driving in your car.”

Will stopped dead in his tracks, the familiar voice of the man singing the song seemed to put him at halt. 

“New Smiths album!?” he exclaimed, spinning around to meet Kilgour’s eyes. 

“Yeah I guess... I think this might be their magnum opus.” Kilgour said, picking up the record and examining the tracklist from behind the counter. 

Will let out a content hum, “We’ll have to see, I still have a soft spot for Hatful of Hollow.”

Kilgour let out a soft laugh from the counter as he squashed his cigarette into a small tray, the smoke softly floating above him. 

Will had no idea what record he was looking for, but he knew he’d find at least something. He was supposed to be meeting Mr. Erinmore and load cargo onto his boat, but he had lost almost all of his motivation to even walk to the dock. Mr. Erinmore was his neighbor, and often spoke to Will like he was his own biological son. He started doing cargo work solely for purpose of money, but sometimes Mr. Erinmore would bring homemade pastries that his wife had cooked (Will was not ashamed to say he would die for her pastries.) He was pulled out of his train of thoughts when his hand grazed amongst the album Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division. 

He pulled it out and decided that even though he knew two songs off the album, he’d give it a go. As he was walking to the front counter, his eyes spotted a small shelf of cassettes. He trotted over, and was lucky enough to find The Head on The Door by The Cure. 

He grabbed that as well, the thought of blasting it in his walkman on the way home seemed a lot better than he thought. Will silently pulled out his wallet as he set his items on the counter.

”That’ll be £16.07 also- the best track off this album is She’s Lost Control.” Kilgour remarked as Will handed him cash. Will lightly chuckled, saying he’d take Kilgour's word on it. With a quick “bye” and a small hand wave, Will exited the store and trotted to his bike where his backpack hung on his handlebars. He slipped the record into his bag and pulled out his walkman set. Popping open the lid, he set his cassette in the walkman and put on his tiny set of headphones.

As soon as the first track played through his ears, he was riding back to his house. The sound of the sweet melody of the song combined with the breeze of the ocean was enough to make him cry. He absolutely loved riding home, it was one of the few moments he felt true, required peace. As if the universe was covering him in a blanket and showing him what life really could be like. He passed by the dock, pedaling faster incase Mr. Erinmore saw him. 

As he peddled into his driveway, he felt his peace slip away. He didn't hate where he lived or his family, it was more of a hate towards himself because of how much he goes home. Will knows he is lonely and that he isolates, but he was so familiar and comfortable with being alone that he was scared of changing it.

“William? Are you home already?” a familiar feminine voice boomed out from his house. 

Will took a deep breath. “Yeah mum, it's me.“ he called back, sighing as he got off his bike and rested it against the side of his house. 

He walked up to his front door and went to open it, but his mom had already gotten there. 

“I thought you worked longer- it's not even dark yet.” She said, raising an eyebrow as if she knew that Will had skipped loading cargo. Will couldn’t help it when the tip of his ears tinted to a bright pink. 

“Oh- yeah he didn’t have much stuff for me to uh- load...” He stuttered out, slightly rubbing his neck. 

His mother only shook her head and smirked. ”William please. It's not the hardest job in the world, and odds are if you don‘t help him now, he’ll make you work double the next time hun.”

Will slowly nodded his head as he turned around and walked back to his bike. He cursed himself under his breath, and got back on his bike.

”ll be here when you get back, you can have leftovers.” She said before closing the door and leaving Will by himself

”Fuck me.” he cursed before getting on his bike and ridding back into town. 

It was only a matter of minutes before he found himself at the boat dock. He could see Mr. Erinmore, andhe quickly shuffled over to him. Eventually, he noticed Will and huffed. He approached him with a crate in his arms.

“Ah there you are William, you’re late.” He said before dropping the crate in Will‘s arms.

“Sorry sir, I had to help my mum with something.” Will said before quickly boarding the ship to avoid Mr. Erinmore. The ship was actually a fairly small boat for loading cargo. Sometimes he found the job to be quite nice. The water was always calm, softly rocking the boat. It was usually evening when he went to help, so he got to watch the sunset from Mr. Erinmore’s ship. He usually thought nothing could be more breathtaking than that. 

After loading crates for what seemed hours, Will noticed a man walking his dog along the dock. It was unusual, most of the time it was just him and other cargo ship captains on the dock during the evening.

The taller man held a jacket in one hand, the other hand clutching what seemed to be a bag of food. He had short hair and a scruffy face with blue eyes and a sharp jawline. Then Will noticed the shorter man following him who was walking the dog. 

He seemed younger than the taller man, but not by a whole lot. His face was more full with rounder cheeks and a delicate jawline. His hair was longer and cut like a mullet, with a soft curl that fell across his forehead. He had the same bright blue eyes as the taller man, but an even brighter smile. It was genuine, and the way his eyes squinted when he laughed made Will’s ears turn pink for the second time that day.

Will could not stop looking. And he knew he was staring, he knew it was weird and if the boy were to make eye contact with him he’d jump into the fucking ocean. Funny enough because as soon as the shorter boy looked in Will’s direction, Mr. Erinmore shouted his name so that Will could carry more cargo. 

Will quickly broke eye contact and ran to the side of the dock where the crates were. Out of the corner of his eye, he could have sworn that he saw the shorter boy slow down and watch Will roll up his sleeves and pick up a crate. But by the time Will was able to look back up, both boys were gone. 

He let out a sigh and turned to grab another crate, trying to keep himself occupied. But he kept thinking about the boys smile and his black sweater that had a few pins on it that will really wishes he could’ve made out. He mentally punched himself- ‘Get your head out of your own ass, you’ll probably never see him again.’ he thought. Will stayed and helped load the boat until the sun had set and the sky turned a deep shade of indigo. Mr. Erinmore thanked him and paid Will a fair share, enough to get him a few more records from Kilgour's store. 

“Thank you sir, I’ll be back Friday to help you.” He said as he hopped onto his bike. 

He began to make his way into town, the streetlights casting haunting shadows on the trees. It had gotten much colder since the sun had disappeared, but the night was an oddly comforting time for him. He was about halfway home when a few shadows caught his eye.

At first, Will wasn’t too suspicious. He knows people can still be out during the night. But then more shadows seemed to follow, and eventually a loud crash. His heart began to speedup, and something in him told him that he should probably hurry up. But there was another loud crash and-voices? A mix of yelling and cheering and some screaming. And Will had to see what was going on. 

He peddled down the street, following the voices until they got louder. The people seemed to be behind a diner, it had closed hours before so the area was practically abandoned. Will leaned his bike against the wall of the diner and with feather soft footsteps, he made his way around the back of the diner. Loud footsteps echoed down the alleyway, and will could feel his face heat up from fear- fear of the unknown. How would he know what’s he’s about to get himself into? ‘Breath. Breath. Breath’ he thought- over and over until he walked around the corner behind the diner.

He saw a group of boys, no older than him, cheering and jumping around one boy. Will had absolutely no bloody clue as to what was going on. The boy in the middle moved to the side slightly, revealing a body on the ground. If it wasn’t for the streetlight above them, Will would’ve assumed they were just messing around. But no, a body was on the ground and a group of boys cheered on as someone cursed at the body and even spit on it.

Will had seen enough. Something inside him flipped, and a rush of power surged through his legs, pushing him forward.

“HEY!” He shouted, his voice coming out strong and stable. The group of boys began to back up quickly, some of them gasping and running away into the night. But Will managed to charge at the boy and grab him by his leather jacket collar. And then he realized who it was.

“Baumer..?” Will let out. Baumer was a young German boy who seemed to not speak a lick of English. Baumer’s eyes widened once he realized Will was practically lifting him up by his shirt and shoving him against the wall of the diner. Will’s eyebrows furrowed, his heart beating faster than ever before. Baumer’s eyes kept darting from his few remaining friends, as if he could cry for help with a simple glance at them. 

“Look at me Baumer.” Will spoke slowly and deep, his voice nearly scaring himself. Baumer immediately looked at him, his eyeliner smeared and jaw open. Baumer’s eyes were wide, wide like a deer in headlights. Fear soaked his features, his hands gripping onto Will‘s jacket for stability. Will straightened his back and looked down at the shorter bloke. Knowing he was a good couple of inches taller than Baumer, there’s no way Baumer would even dare to protest.

“Scram.” He said, a harshness in his voice that seemed to knock the wind out of Baumer and his posey. He shoved Baumer away from him and watched as he dug his boots into the ground and sprint away down the street, his friends looking back at Will every few seconds as if they were scared he was going to follow them. 

“Fucking horrible innit?” He said to himself, whipping his hands on his own jacket and running a hand through his hair. Will closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm down and grounded. Until he remembered that he was not alone.

He immediately trotted over to the body on the ground. They had propped themselves up on one arm, the other one softly touching their cheek. They let out a quiet “Ouch,” and Will was quick to kneel down beside them. The person let out a grunt as they tried to lift their head up. “Hey-“ was all Will could manage to say before he was met with familiar blue eyes that pierced through him under the streetlight.

It was the boy from the dock.


	2. two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> will gets to know the boy

The next thing Will knew, he was offering his hand to the boy on the ground, his breath hitching in his throat as he took it. For the first time, Will got a good look at him. 

He had full cheeks with light freckles that fell under his eyes. The boy’s eyes were glistening with tears and a stream of red flowed from his nose, grazing his top lip and dropping onto his combat boots. Will’s eyes followed the blood droplet, a shiver went down his back realizing the boy was probably bleeding in other places as well. 

Will moved his freehand up to the boy's shoulder, lightly resting it in case he was hurt there. He quickly looked around, and noticed a small wooden bench at the front of the diner. 

“Here, lets um- let’s get you over there. Can you walk?” Will asked, looking back over at the boy. 

The boy’s eyes were staring back at Will like a deer in headlights. A small tear fell from his eye, but he was quick to wipe it away. 

The boy snapped out of his stare. “I um- yeah I suppose I can walk.” He said, and began to make his way to the bench. Unfortunately for him, he tried to cover up the fact that he was slightly limping, but Will trotted over and put a hand on his back to help him anyways.

When they got to the bench, the boy immediately crashed onto it, his eyes squeezing shut as if realizing he was in pain. Will stood beside him, riddling with anxiety because, surprise, Will had never been in this situation before. 

“Um- is there someone I can call to come get you?” Will said, watching as the boy tilted his head back and pinched the bridge of his nose. He tilted his head again, this time so he was looking at Will. 

“I- I don't know... my mums probably asleep and my brother is staying with his friend.”

“Well, how far away do you live from here?”

The boy tilted his head back again. “Not too far, I’m just right of the cherry tree orchard just up north. Mum’s got her own business and me and my brother help her out with it.”

‘That's only 15 minutes away from here.’ Will thought to himself.

Will only nodded in response, not sure of what to say. An uncomfortable silence fell around them as Will rubbed his hands down the side of his jacket and looked out onto the empty street. He had to do something. 

“I suppose I could um- give you a ride home, if you can’t get a ride.” Will blurted out, fixating on one of the shops across the street to keep himself calm.

“Really mate? That would be really fuckin’ helpful.” The boy said, and Will turned to look at him. The corner of the boy’s mouth has quirked up slightly, the lines of pain and worry in his face seemed to fade away at Will’s offer. 

“Y-yeah, it's fine.. I don’t have my car with me but I have my bike so you’re going to have to sit behind me if that's alright.” 

It hit Will that he was offering a stranger a ride home on his bike at night. Which wasn't the worst thing he had ever realized in his life, but still. Will didn’t know anything about the boy except for the fact that he was still bleeding from his nose and that he had a dog. 

The boy shrugged his shoulders and said he didn’t mind it. That relieved Will to a degree, and he let out a long sigh. 

“I’m gonna go grab my bike real quick. Oh also, tilt your head straight, that way your blood won’t- y’know- drip into your throat.” Will said before quickly turning around and jogging to his bike that was still leaning against the wall he left it on. He heard the boy let out an “Oh”, assuming he listened to Will’s odd advice. 

Will grabbed his bike, and pulled his backpack back onto him. Did he really think this whole thing through? Surely there was someone he could call to get the boy, but he wasn’t in the mood to call someone he wasn’t familiar with. He began to make his way back over, looking up to see the boy had listened to Will and was mumbling something to himself. 

“Here, there’s a little seat on the back you can sit on.” Will said, leaning his bike next to the bench to help the boy get up. He placed one hand under the boys arm and his other on his back and lifted him up. The boy grunted as pressure was put back onto his leg again. 

“Here, I got you.” Will said, returning his hand to the same spot on the boys back. His worn-out leather jacket was warm, and it was a nice contrast from the air that was turning colder as the minutes passed by. 

“Ah, thank you uh- I don’t believe I know your name.” The boy said, slightly tilting his head to the left to look at Will. 

“Will, Will Schofield.” 

“I’m Tom Blake, but most people just call me Blake. Do you go by any nicknames?” 

They had reached Will’s bike and Will let his hand slide off his back. Will started to get on his bike, making sure Blake was able to get on successfully. He did. 

“I um, I suppose I don’t really have one to go by.” Will responded. It was kind of sad to say it out loud, but considering he only talks to one person, it was basically inevitable. 

“Well, we should change that! Everyone should have a nickname, Will Schofield.” Blake said, a hint of a laugh in his response.

“I suppose so, yeah.” 

Then they fell quiet again. Will had his hands on his handles and a foot on a peddle. He heard Blake click his tongue a few times as if he was waiting for Will to say something. Which technically, he was. 

“Oh, you might want to hold onto just kind of around my waist- y’know- just so you don’t fall off.” Will stuttered, his nerves kicking in and making him feel like he should let Blake decide if he wants to hold Will’s waist or not. 

But he was too late because Blake had snaked his arms around Will’s waist, his hands holding onto his own wrists. He felt Blake’s upper chest press against his backpack, and debated if he should strap the backpack on his own chest so there was more room. 

But that would be weird, right? 

“Do you need any help getting there? I can give you directions if you need ‘em.” Blake asked, his breath hitting Will’s neck like a warm blanket. 

“No, I can get there myself, but thanks anyways.” 

And off they went, Will peddling down the empty dark street as Blake tightened his grip around his waist. 

Around a minute into the somewhat short bike ride, Blake had struck up a conversation. 

“So Will, tell me about yourself.” Blake said, startling Will as he had been trying to focus on anything but Blake. 

“Well, what do you want to know about me?” Will said, and saw his breath from the light of a streetlight above them. 

“Anything mate, what you do, what you listen to, what your favorite brand of soap is.” 

Will huffed a laugh. “Favorite brand of soap? A bit personal innit?” 

“I mean, if you don’t use soap that’s totally fine I won’t judge you.” 

‘Cocky bastard’ Will thought. 

“I don’t know, I just use regular soap, I guess?” Will responded, mentally kicking himself for making it seem like he was being passive aggressive. Truth is is that Will was terribly shy and hadn’t spoken this much to a person in months. 

“Oh speaking of soap, one time I pranked my brother, Joe, poor bastard. So he had this bottle of shampoo that was absolutely horrid, it was supposed to have some vanilla coconut scent but it wreaked.” 

Blake went quiet, strange since it seemed like he had a whole speech planned to give.

“Mhhmmm..” Will said, making it seem like he acknowledged Blake’s story.

Blakeimmediately picked back up his story. “So I thought ‘Huh, how can I make it smell worse?’ Well, let me tell you something, I managed to do it. I squeezed out all of his shampoo and replaced it with mayo. So the next time he showered he smelt like mayo for a week until he noticed that there was in fact mayo in his shampoo bottle.” 

“Did he ever find out you did it?” Will asked. 

“Of course he did! Got me back real good actually, he decided to make me custard but used expired milk so I threw up for a good few days.” 

Will giggled. So Blake likes to talk a lot, and yeah, sometimes Will wishes he would sum up his story but it’s better than uncomfortable silence for the rest of the ride. 

“So, how ‘bout you? Got any funny sibling stories?” Blake asked. 

Will sighed. “I don’t, I’m an only child.” 

“Oh, that’s alright mate. Sometimes I wish I was an only child.” 

Will let out an exasperated laugh at that. “No you don’t.” 

“And why is that?”

“It’s lonely.” 

“Oh…” Was all Blake said. And Will is reminded as to why he doesn’t talk that much. His negative perception of things always pulled through. 

“Hey, I guarantee you Joe wishes he was an only child too. Siblings can be absolutely rubbish.” Blake perked up. 

“Is that so?” Will said, a small grin forming on his face.

And then Blake was going on with another story of him messing with Joe and getting his ass handed to him in return. Blake was fully able to admit that he can’t seem to learn from his mistakes, but it makes him laugh so he keeps doing it. 

Will would sound stupid if he said he couldn’t tell Blake was smiling the whole time while telling his stories. 

Eventually, Will turned onto the dirt road that led to Blake's house, just right of the cherry blossom orchard. The trees were soon to be in full bloom, and it was one of the prettiest things Will had the chance to see. 

“Have you ever been here before?” Blake asked. 

“A few times, my mum would take me to get pies from the bakery.” 

“Ah, your mums a smart woman, did you like the pies?” Blake said as Will stopped at the mailbox that stood in front of the only house on the street. 

“Yeah, I did. A lot, actually.” He responded as Blake removed his arms from Will’s waist. Blake swung a leg over the seat and stood up, holding onto his mailbox for stability. 

“Shit, do you need me to walk you to the-“ Will started, but was cut off by Blake waving his hand in front of his face. 

“No no no no no, I’ll be alright. You’ve helped me enough tonight.” Blake said before turning and smiling at Will. 

“Thank you, Will. I hope I see you around again.” And just like that, Blake began to make his way back to his home. 

“Bye Blake, see you around,” Will responded, and began to slowly peddle back down the street. Just as he was going to turn, he heard a familiar voice call his name. 

“Oh Will! I came up with a nickname for you!” Blake shouted down the street. Will internally cringed at how loud Blake was, but God did he want to know what Blake had come up with.

“Oh yeah?” Will shouted back. 

“Yeah! Scho! Schofield was too hard to remember, sorry mate.” 

Before Will could say anything, Blake had limped into his house and was gone from Will’s sight. 

And just like that, Tom Blake had made his way into Will’s life. Will smiled to himself, the thought of having a new person in his life was refreshing. 

He put his feet back on his petals and made his way back home, the feeling of Blake’s arms around his waist lingering.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry abt the lag!! i had a lot school work but i should be able to upload more frequently now :)

**Author's Note:**

> hi guys! just wanted to say that this is my first fanfic ever so... it’s kinda shit. BUT i’m really excited to be writing so stay tuned for more :) also- i can guarantee you that baumer gets better


End file.
